Loading chute



Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

FRANK DE RODS, OF SPRINGFIELD, SOUTH DAKO'IPAl LOADING CIIUTE.

Application filed July 14,

My invention relates to loading clnites and. it is my object to providea chute of the type which is hinged to the rear edge of a truck illoorand. adapted to swing upwardly to iiorm a part ot the end gate of thetruck.

lljlore specifically, it is my purpose to provide such a chute having ahinged portion which is extensible to lengthen the chute to reach theground at a proper incline, said hinged portion being adapted to swingby gravity to a closed position relative to the remainder of the chutewhen the latter has been swung upwardly to its vertical posh tion,serving as an end gate.

A il'iljirther object of my invention is to provide such a chute havingan intermediate support hinged in such a manner as to told in unisonwith the folding extension.

lViith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

F l is a side elevation of my invention. attached to a truck, the floorof which is shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view through the same in its closedposition, serving as an end gate.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation of the upper portion of the devicewhen serving as an end gate, showing its attachment to the truck box.

Fig. 4 is a detail, sectional view illustrating the attachment of thesides of the chute.

Fig. 5 is an inverted plan View of the chute.

Fig. 6 is a detail, sectional view illustrating the hook by means ofwhich the chute side members are stored within the truck box when not inuse.

I have used the reference character 9 to indicate generally the floor ofa truck, to the rear extremity of which is hinged the chute of myinvention.

The chute comprises a bottom member A, detachable side members B, ahinged extension C and a hinged support I).

The bottom member A and the hinged. extension C comprise pairs of siderails 10 and 1.1, respectively, spaced apart and so- 1927. Serial No.205,750.

cured together by :tloor slats 12 and. hinged together by means oil arod 13, which extends through the overlapping ends of the rails it) and.11, respectively. The rails ll. are spaced more closely together thanthe rails 10 and. are received between the latter. The su' iport 1)comprises a pair oi legs ll, piroted upon the rod 12" and. secured.together at their other ends by a cross member 153. An iintermedintocross member lti is run-- ploycd to space apart the legs Ll at theirinner ends and to more securely brace the whole structure of thesupport.

A pair of yokes 17 are secured to the outer faces of the rails 10 neartheir outer ends, one end of each yoke being secured upon the rod 1?),which is headed at one end as at 1.8 and provided with a tln'eaded. nut19 at its other end. A pair oi. similar yokes 20 are secured. to theremote enr s of the rails 10.

To the inner ends of the rails 10 are secured a pair of hinge straps 21,terminating in loops 22 which receive a hinge rod 23. (Jo-acting hingestrap 24, provided with loops 25, receive over the rod 23, are securedto the bottom 10 of the truck.

The detachable side members each comprises a pair of spaced posts 27,connected by spaced longitudinal bars 28. A pair of tongues 29 aresecured to the inner faces of the posts 27 at their lower ends and theads jacent portions of the posts are recessed as at 30 so that thetongues 29 may be inserted be tween the yokes 17 and the rails 10. (SeeFigs. 1 and 4.)

WVhen the device is to be used as a chute, it hinged downwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 1, the extension being swungi to alignmentwiththe bottom member A. It may be noted at this point that the adjacentfloor slats 12 at the connected ends of the members A and C,respectively, are so positioned as to abut one another when theextension has been brought to its aligned position relative to thebottom member A. Thus these :[loor slats act as limiting stops. In orderto support the loads to which the chute will be subjected, however, thesupport I) is n'ovided and is of such a length as to just reach theground when swung to a vertical position with the end of the extension Cresting upon the ground. Since the natural position of the support Dwould be fit) to hang downwardly and there is no longitudinal movementpossible in the chute while the truck is standing still, the user of thedevice will never be bothered with the support losing its correctvertical position.

When the device is to be folded upto serve as an end gate, the sidemembers B are first removed and stored within the truck box and theoperator then simply grasps the under side of the bottom member A andpushes it upwardly to a vertical position. As the bottom member swingsupwardly, the extension C and the support D will assume dependingpositions, causing them to fold within the rails 10, as shown in Fig. 2.Hooks 31, secured to the rails 10", are adapted to engage with screweyes 32 in a cross member 33 of the truck box for retaining the devicein the closed position.

Hooks 34, secured to the inner faces of the rails 10, are adapted toengage eyes 35 in the rails 11 to retain the extension C securelyagainst flopping while the truck is in motion. The extension C in turnincloses,

' between it and the bottom member A, the

support D.

The advantages of my device reside in the simplicity of construction,the semi-automatic folding feature, and the usual advantages of a hingedcombination chute and end gate. The side members B are stored in thetruck box by placing the hooks 50, shown in Figs. 6 and 1, respectivelover one of the side rails 51 of the truck ox.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim, anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

In combination with a truck box, a chute bottom hinged to the rearextremity of the bottom thereof and adapted to swing upwardly to asubstantially vertical position, said chute bottom including side rails,an extension hinged at the outer end of said chute bottom, and a supporthinged to the chute bottom on the same axis as the extension, bothsupport and extension including side rails, the side rails of the chutebottom, the support and the extension being provided in pairs arrangedwithin each other so as to fold together with their edges positionedsubstantially in common planes, the extension and support being adaptedto swing downwardly toward said positions as the chute bottom is raised.

Signed this 27 day of June, 1927, in the county of VVoodbury and Stateof Iowa.

FRANK DE ROOS.

